rune
n. countablen. an ancient letter used in old writing systems from Northern Europe, often carved into stone or wood. People sometimes associate them with magic or mystery.
n. a character from any of several alphabets used by Germanic peoples from the 3rd to the 13th centuries. Often carries connotations of mystery or occult significance in literary contexts.
The archaeologist found a stone with an ancient rune carved on it.
Historians studied the inscriptions on the burial mound to decipher the meaning of each individual rune.
The fantasy novel describes a protagonist who must activate a series of glowing runes to unlock the gates of the forgotten city.
Borrowed from Old Norse rún, which is from Proto-Germanic rūnō (“letter, literature, secret”), which is borrowed either from Proto-Celtic rūnā or from the same source as it; compare Dutch rune, German Rune, Raune, Danish rune and Swedish runa. Compare roun. ; Finnic epic poem ; "code point"
Often used in the plural when referring to an inscription or a set of characters.